Nbadan
05-02-2019, 12:16 AM
US Justice Dept. Goes All In, Embracing Texas Judge's Obamacare Takedown
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday urged ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NHairZxX0UcLWQvZfmd7J5FQxaPV1K0D/view ) a federal appeals court to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, arguing that the elimination of the key individual mandate provision renders the entire Obama-era law unconstitutional.
The government’s filing—in support of Texas and other Republican-led states challenging the law—was not unexpected. The Trump-era Justice Department had earlier announced its new intent to argue that the entire health care law should be declared void. The U.S. government’s brief fully supports a Texas federal trial judge who last year declared Obamacare unlawful.
Wednesday’s filing points to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which upheld the Affordable Care Act in 2012 on the basis that the individual mandate—which penalized those who did not buy health coverage—could be construed as an exercise of Congress’ taxing power.
While noting that Main Justice earlier had told the district court that the individual mandate was severable from the whole law, the brief said the government changed its mind “upon further consideration.” The only justices to reach severability in Sebelius—in a joint dissent—had said the provisions were highly interdependent and would not “function in a coherent way and as Congress would have intended” without the other provisions.
The government’s brief was filed by August Flentje, a veteran Justice Department appellate lawyer. Flentje, who made his appearance in the case earlier in the day, was identified as a special counsel in the DOJ’s civil division.
https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/05/01/us-justice-dept-goes-all-in-embracing-texas-judges-obamacare-takedown/
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5g6HtCXsAYQ0sW.jpg
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday urged ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NHairZxX0UcLWQvZfmd7J5FQxaPV1K0D/view ) a federal appeals court to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, arguing that the elimination of the key individual mandate provision renders the entire Obama-era law unconstitutional.
The government’s filing—in support of Texas and other Republican-led states challenging the law—was not unexpected. The Trump-era Justice Department had earlier announced its new intent to argue that the entire health care law should be declared void. The U.S. government’s brief fully supports a Texas federal trial judge who last year declared Obamacare unlawful.
Wednesday’s filing points to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which upheld the Affordable Care Act in 2012 on the basis that the individual mandate—which penalized those who did not buy health coverage—could be construed as an exercise of Congress’ taxing power.
While noting that Main Justice earlier had told the district court that the individual mandate was severable from the whole law, the brief said the government changed its mind “upon further consideration.” The only justices to reach severability in Sebelius—in a joint dissent—had said the provisions were highly interdependent and would not “function in a coherent way and as Congress would have intended” without the other provisions.
The government’s brief was filed by August Flentje, a veteran Justice Department appellate lawyer. Flentje, who made his appearance in the case earlier in the day, was identified as a special counsel in the DOJ’s civil division.
https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/05/01/us-justice-dept-goes-all-in-embracing-texas-judges-obamacare-takedown/
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5g6HtCXsAYQ0sW.jpg